The healthcare industry is becoming more diversified. New positions are being created in a field that’s continually evolving, all with one goal in mind. Dolling out the best qualitative care to patients. But healthcare practitioners say what’s needed even more are bright young minds willing to commit themselves to healthcare careers. That’s where a unique, new program comes into play, allowing kids to PLAY DOCTOR for the DAY. Its this week’s Medical Monday with Shawn Cunningham.

Right now, he’s only a student at Caribou High School, but Anthony Bahe is mastering how to soutre this pig’s foot. “This is a straight line incision and I did three sutres,” says Anthony.

For Anthony it’s the beginnings of what he’ll experience as a med student, and someday a doctor. He and these eleven other county students are participating in Doctor For The Day. Its a unique program that gives kids a firsthand look at the medical field. Dr. Victoria Hayes is the Co-Director of the Doctor for The Day Program and says “I think studies have shown even as early as fourth or fifth grade alot of students have made up their mind whether they can proceed into a career like this and we need to catch them really early and inspire them.”

Dr. Hayes says Doctor for the Day is made possible through a series of grants. This is the first time county students are participating in the workshop. And she’s not lecturing to these kids about the important role doctors play in saving lives…THEY’RE seeing and learning that all firsthand.

“We put them in a white coat and give them a stethoscope and what’s its really like to be a doctor we also role model interdisciplinary interprofessional training the real way we crae for patients its not just doctor to patient, its repsiratory therapists, nurses all of our support system,” describes Hayes.

And that sharing is allowing some of these kids to open up and say AAAAH to their AHA moment of becoming the next generation of healthcare practitioners. “They had me step up as a primary care physician and it definitely made me realize that I’m gonna be working with a lot of different people in a lot of different fields and we definitely need to work together as a team to overall get a positive outcome for the patient we’re working with,” says Cassie Bolstridge, a student at Ashland High School.

Dr. Hayes says she looks forward to bringing Doctor For The Day back up to Aroostook County in the near future.